UCLA
Northwestern
Men's Tennis Meets Northwestern in NCAA Opener Friday
May 04, 2023 | Men's Tennis
The UCLA men's tennis team meets Northwestern Friday at 7 a.m. PT for a first-round NCAA tournament matchup in Lexington, Ky. The Bruins (12-10, 3-5 Pac-12) and Wildcats (20-9, 7-2 Big Ten) clash for the third time, having split two previous decisions. Host and fourth-ranked Kentucky (24-4, 9-3 SEC) takes on Presbyterian (16-9, 4-1 Big South) 10 a.m. PT. Winners face off in the second round Saturday at 10 a.m. PT.
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 45th
Overall Won-Lost Record: 124-40
Appearances Unseeded: Second
Round of 16 Appearances (Last): 43 (2019)
Quarterfinal Round Appearances (Last): 39 (2018)
Semifinal Round Appearances (Last): 27 (2018)
Final Round Appearances (Last): 12 (2013)
NCAA Championships (Since 1977): 4 (1979, 1982, 1984, 2005)
NCAA Championships (Total): 16 (1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1960, 1961, 1965, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1984, 2005)
FOLLOW LIVE
Live video from Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex is available HERE, while live scoring can be found HERE.
UCLA IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The UCLA men's tennis program has qualified for the NCAA Championships 45 times in 46 years since the tournament format was adopted. The Bruins have collected 16 NCAA team titles, including four since the changeover in 1977. They have also been one of the last 16 teams standing 43 times. UCLA holds a 124-40 record in NCAA play. UCLA and Northwestern have split two postseason decisions in the programs' only meetings. The Bruins were eliminated from the 2021 NCAA tournament with a 4-1 first-round loss to the Wildcats May 8 at the Texas Tennis Center. UCLA took the doubles point in thrilling fashion, but was unable to tally a win in singles action. Northwestern triumphed in five first sets en route to four straight-set victories.
REVELLI, ZAHRAJ EARN ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Giacomo Revelli and Patrick Zahraj were honored by the Pac-12 Thursday, as the conference announced its postseason awards and All-Conference accolades. Both student-athletes were named to the All-Conference Second Team. Revelli's inclusion represents a first, while Zahraj made the team after earning Honorable Mention recognition in 2022.
LAST TIME OUT
The sixth-seeded UCLA men's tennis was eliminated from the Pac-12 Championships April 27, falling to No. 3-seed Utah by a 4-1 score in quarterfinal-round action at Libbey Park. Giacomo Revelli turned in the lone singles win for the Bruins, beating No. 43 Geronimo Espin Busleiman 6-3, 6-4. He also teamed with Timothy Li for the pair's fourth victory against a nationally-ranked tandem. Gianluca Ballotta also neared a singles win, but was stopped short when the overall result was decided. Prevailing for the Utes in singles play were Francisco Bastias, Patrik Trhac and clincher Franco Capalbo.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA is No. 35 in the most recent ITA Team Rankings, released Thursday. All rankings have been computerized since Feb. 21. The top 25 teams were previously determined by coaches poll. The ITA National Doubles Rankings, also announced Thursday, include the combination of Timothy Li and Giacomo Revelli at No. 56. Li and Revelli have knocked off No. 53 Berk Bugarikj and Patrik Trhac of Utah at the Pac-12 Championships (April 27 โ 6-2), No. 41 Bugarikj and Trhac again during the regular season (April 22 โ 6-4), No. 30 Joshua Charlton and Quinn Vandecasteele of Oregon (April 15 โ 7-5) and No. 73 Jay Friend and Jonas Ziverts of Arizona (March 31 โ 7-5). Alexander Hoogmartens sits at No. 84 in the singles rankings. He reached a career-best No. 15 Feb. 8. Each of Hoogmartens' most recent five wins has come versus an opponent ranked in the top 50 of the ITA National Singles Rankings. He is 7-3 overall against nationally-ranked foes during the 2022-23 season. Hoogmartens' four latest singles victories have also come in straight sets, starting when he beat No. 43 Trey Hilderbrand of Texas A&M 6-3, 6-2 (Jan. 13) at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup in Thousand Oaks, Calif. To start the dual-match campaign, Hoogmartens has knocked off No. 41 Andre Ilagan of Hawai'i (Jan. 20 โ 6-4, 6-1), No. 31 Daniel De Jonge of Pepperdine (Jan. 21 โ 6-1, 6-3), No. 39 Pablo Alemany of Memphis (Jan. 28 โ 6-1, 6-4) and No. 47 Sema Pankin of Portland (Feb. 4 โ 6-4, 6-3).
CLINCH WATCH
Gianluca Ballotta (Yale, Pennsylvania and Portland) and Azuma Visaya (at Arizona State, Pepperdine and Hawai'i) each have three clinching wins this season to lead the Bruins. Giacomo Revelli (UC San Diego, vs. Memphis) and Patrick Zahraj (Oregon, UC Irvine) have two apiece. Timothy Li (Washington) and Aadarsh Tripathi (Oklahoma State) have each posted the fourth point once on the year.
FALL RECAP
The Bruins took part in five tournaments โ including two national events โ before the new year. Alexander Hoogmartens racked up a team-high seven singles wins, including two versus nationally-ranked opponents. He reached the ITA Southwest Regional Championships singles final round, beating No. 46 Gustaf Strom and No. 45 Tim Zeitvogel of Pepperdine along the way. Jeffrey Fradkin and Patrick Zahraj picked up five doubles victories each to lead the squad. Fradkin and Aadarsh Tripathi collaborated on a championship run at the UCSB Classic. Hoogmartens and Zahraj teamed to qualify for the ITA All-American Championships main draw.
2021-22 IN REVIEW
The 2021-22 Bruins went 13-12, but had their season stopped short of the NCAA team tournament. UCLA got past higher-seeded Utah in the Pac-12 Championships quarterfinal round, but came up on the wrong end of a 4-3 decision in its final-four matchup with Washington. The Bruins won six of their final eight matches. Individually, Alexander Hoogmartens became the first UCLA freshman to make the Pac-12's All-Conference First Team since Daniel Kosakowski in 2011. Patrick Zahraj earned Honorable Mention recognition. Hoogmartens qualified for the NCAA Championships singles tournament. He turned in a team-high 14 doubles wins while playing alongside three different partners. Stefan Leustian led all Bruins with 19 singles victories.
WHO'S NEW?
The UCLA roster features freshmen Gianluca Ballotta, Aadarsh Tripathi, Emon van Loben Sels and Azuma Visaya. Ballotta (Lima, Peru) holds a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 42 and qualified for the singles and doubles draws at the 2022 US Open Junior Championships. Tripathi (Pleasanton, Calif.), a Blue Chip recruit according to TennisRecruiting.net, won the Boys' 16 doubles championship alongside van Loben Sels at the 2019 USTA National Level 3: Coyote Cup in Scottsdale, Ariz. Van Loben Sels, also a Blue Chip talent, teamed with Ethan Schiffman to claim the Boys' 16 doubles title at the 2021 Easter Bowl in San Diego. Visaya, another Blue Chip prospect and the top-rated player in Hawaii, swept singles and doubles championships at a number of USTA events in his home state.
BRUINS ON TOUR
Former UCLA standouts continue to become household names in the professional ranks, with Maxime Cressy, Marcos Giron, Mackenzie McDonald and Jean-Julien Rojer turning in notable results across the Grand Slams and on the ATP Tour. Cressy picked up his first ATP Tour championship when he beat Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan at the 2022 Hall of Fame Open in Newport, R.I. Giron was the singles runner-up at the 2022 San Diego Open. McDonald opened 2023 by beating top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal in three sets at the Australian Open. Rojer collected his fourth Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros in 2022, teaming with Marcelo Arevalo to defeat Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the final. Rojer also won the 2023 Delray Beach Open doubles crown alongside Arevalo in February. Cressy (39, career-high 31 in 2022), McDonald (54, career-high 48 in 2022) and Giron (61, career-high 49 in 2022) are currently ranked among the ATP's top 70 singles players. Rojer is tied for No. 8 on the doubles list.
ANOTHER MARTIN MILESTONE
Head coach Billy Martin is in his 30th year at the helm of the UCLA men's tennis program and this season marks his 40th since joining the staff of friend, mentor and fellow UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Glenn Bassett. Martin, who passed Bassett to became the program's all-time leader in head-coaching wins during the 2019 season, is the longest-tenured active coach at UCLA. He holds a record of 642-157 (.804) at the helm. He guided the 2005 Bruins to the program's 16th NCAA team title and just five Martin-led squads have finished outside the top five at the season-ending NCAA Championships. Benjamin Kohlloeffel (2006), Marcos Giron (2014) and Mackenzie McDonald (2016) have earned NCAA singles titles on Martin's watch, while UCLA has become a frequent landing spot for doubles champions of late. In addition to 1996 winners Justin Gimelstob and Srdjan Muskatirovic, three of the most recent six titleholders (McDonald/Martin Redlicki in 2016, Redlicki/Evan Zhu in 2018 and Maxime Cressy/Keegan Smith in 2019 have called Westwood home.
HOOGMARTENS HONORED BY PAC-12
Alexander Hoogmartens was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 16-22, the conference announced Jan. 24. Hoogmartens defended his spot on the top singles court emphatically as the Bruins opened the dual-match portion of their season with home wins against Hawai'i and No. 19 Pepperdine. The sophomore defeated No. 41 Andre Ilagan of the Rainbow Warriors (6-4, 6-1) and No. 31 Daniel De Jonge of the Waves (6-1, 6-3), increasing his 2022-23 win total versus players ranked in the ITA's top 50 to five since the fall. Hoogmartens contributed to each of UCLA's first two points scored in its 4-3 victory against Pepperdine, also teaming with Timothy Li to outlast Maxi Homberg and Eero Vasa in a tiebreaker, 10-8. The Court 2 decision came after the other two doubles results were split. The Pac-12 Player of the Week award represents the second of Hoogmartens' career and 48th in UCLA men's tennis program history.
Players Mentioned
